D.C. Photo Fakeout: The U.S. Capitol is close, but not this close

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Proximity to power is valuable currency in Washington, D.C. So it won’t surprise folks inside the Beltway that the city’s prominent players occasionally exaggerate their standing. But we’re from New York City, and we couldn’t help but notice that this photo, which appears on the website of the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, gives the false impression that the hotel practically stands in the shadows of the U.S. Capitol.

It doesn’t. Take a look at this photo that we snapped last week during a hotel-reviewing trip to the city and that, we think, more accurately reflects the distance from the hotel to the Capitol — which is, in fact, about a third of a mile. That’s close, just not reach-out-and-touch-it close.

True, as hotel-related D.C. scandals go, this one doesn’t exactly rank up there with Watergate. The hotel’s marketing photo is probably the well-intentioned work of a skillful photographer using a telephoto lens, not a more devious case of digital manipulation. Still, you don’t have to be too great a cynic to see this as evidence that, in Washington, things aren’t always what they seem.

Update: Since we published this Fakeout, the hotel replaced its marketing photo with a more accurate one. Kudos, Hyatt Regency!